The Vanishing Hitchhiker
by ScribblesinDirt
Summary: Human AU. After a disastrous prom, Marianne hitches a ride home with Bog. Just an idea influenced by an urban legend. Not going to get too deep with this idea.
1. Chapter 1

The Princess was spirited, he'd give her that... But not much else. As she lunged for him, he stuck his hand out and braced it against her head. The sheer force of her hitting his hand surprised him. For a moment she rested her weight against his palm, but when she tried to twist away his long fingers held her in place. She struggled for a bit, wiggling this way and that, ultimately unable to break his hold. "Fight me like a man!" She demanded, most imperially. Bogs temper waned watching her fight. It was too late for this.

"Thought I was a cockroach?" Bog said mildly. He'd only just gotten off a ten hour shift and would probably crash immediately when he got home. Of course at this rate he'd be later rather than sooner. He should have checked his noble impulses and kept driving. He gave a world weary sigh. "Look do you want a ride or should I just leave you here for the next idiot who decides he's got a good deed quota to fill?" The girl finally froze and then took a careful step back. He let her go. _Finally_ they were getting somewhere. "You're not an axe murder?" She said eyeing him suspiciously. He supposed out of the things she could have accused him of, that was tame...But he was exhausted and very much done pussyfooting around. Rolling his eyes he replied dryly "Depends on who's asking" The girl surprised him by snorting.

Bog led the way back to his car, and opened the passenger door for her. She slipped in and he slammed it behind her to make sure the old thing was actually going to stick. He climbed in and started the beast, as he called it, and got them back onto the highway. "Where to? " He questioned, glancing at his reluctant companion, only to stare as the she pushed the poofy monstrosity of a dress over her head. As she shoved the thing out her window, Bog's brain processed that she was actually dressed under it. "North side of town." Seeing his look of shock she shrugged "It was hideous a hideous thing for prom. My sister picked it."

He turned his attention firmly back to the road and tried to convince himself he wasn't blushing. Giving it up as a bad job, he reached into the back seat for the coat he kept in the car. "Here" he said gruffly, shoving it at her. She took it, and shrugged it on. "I am decent." She muttered. Bog disagreed. Whatever this girl was, decent she was not. A tank, short shorts, and purple leggings were not what he'd call appropriate attire, even in the summer. But mentioning that would probably get them back to where they started. "Its cold." He said instead. The thing nearly swallowed her, but she was no longer shivering or distracting so he counted it a win.


	2. Chapter 2

A ding came from beside him, and the girl cursed and flung the phone into the floor board. "Wanna talk about it?" Bog didn't know what inspired him to ask. Maybe he was a bit curious about his reluctant hitchhiker.

"Didn't want to go."

"The guy turned back into a toad at midnight."

"Fairytales are for children, go figure."

The girl's voice was both angry and bitter.

He grunted in commiseration. "A real sleazeball?" She had her feet up and was tapping them against her seat in agitation. "The king of. A lying sick sack of-" He cut her off as her voice rose. "Whoa I got the picture." She finished her sentence anyways, practically growling out the words. " _Snail snot_." He chuckled at the venom imbued in the otherwise innocent words. "Well now you know to keep your guard up and never-" She interrupted. "Trust. Anyone. Ever. Yeah I've learned my lesson."

After a period of shared silence, he noticed her watching him. Finally he ground out "What" in irritation. He didn't need some prom queen telling him he was a scruffy creepy looking old guy. It didn't matter that he was twenty four he knew how he looked after a long shift. She didn't flinch; instead she reached out and ran a finger up his jawline. "You have nice eyes." She said softly. "I probably shouldn't have freaked out all over you when you stopped."

Completely out of his depth he shrugged. "No problem. Understandable." He held himself stiffly as her finger continued to linger on his face. There was a moment of silence before she blurted out "Gas!" and suddenly jerked back into her seat.

"I should pay for gas." Awkwardly he stammered out, "That's not necessary." She shook her head frantically. "No. It is. Please." Her _please_ sounded kind of desperate, so he pulled over at the next 7/11 and took the twenty she handed him. Bog went inside to pay, but when he came back out the car was empty. He waited thirty minutes but she didn't come back. The only reason he didn't dismiss it as a sleep deprived hallucination was that his coat was missing too.

Confused and irritable he made his way back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Two years later.

Marianne kicked her scooter. Perhaps it didn't deserve her frustration, but it had learned to live with the lumps life had dealt it. Just like she had. She tried to take a deep breath, tried to calm the fuck down...but it was no good. She screamed at the device but that didn't help either. It was dead and nothing she could do would fix that.

Waiting for someone to pick her up was a no go since she was supposed to be the one coming to the rescue. She huddled deeper into her oversized coat and started walking, grumbling the entire way. Lights broke over the nearest hill followed by a beat up old wood paneled station wagon. Her heart raced as it pulled over and a towering figure stepped out of the cab.

"Come any closer and I'll put your head on a pike bucko." The menacing shadow paused in the headlights and seemed to consider her upraised fists for a moment.

"For the love of Mike." He sounded exasperated. "Do you need help not?" She glanced behind her, at the soft glow coming over the tops of trees, and then back at the man and his car. It would take her at least hour to walk. Not lowering her fists she asked, "Are you an axe murderer?" He groaned out something that sounded suspiciously like 'why me?'

"Oh no," He said, voice laced with sarcasm. "I've upgraded to a wood chipper. Makes the whole process go faster." Marianne snorted, despite knowing that he could still be a creep. She decided she'd risk it for her sister. Lowering her arms she pointed at the glow. "I know it's back the way you came, but can you get me to the lodge over there? It's important." He grunted which she took for a yes and yanked open the passenger door. She slid into the seat and he slammed the door hard, but not hard enough as it bounced back open. He got it on the second try and they were off, looking for a safe place to turn around. She chaffed at the delay, but it still was going to be faster than walking. She just hoped it'd be fast enough.

At an unmarked road they slowed to a stop instead of turning around. _Aw fuck_. Came the panicked thought. _I should have known better._ The man sounded furious as he growled out, "Where did you get that coat?" She shrugged out of it and threw it at him. "You want it? It's yours! Now either let me out or keep driving!" His eyes went huge in shock before his eyebrows drew back down in anger.

"It _is_ mine! Where did you get it?" She looked at him and then back at the coat. "I don't know. I was out of it at the time." She didn't have time to deal with this crazy crap. Dawn didn't have time. "Someone slipped me something and as far as I was concerned I got it from a giant bug." She turned to the door and started yanking on the handle. "Now let me go, I've got to save my sister!"

A hand gripped her shoulder and she whipped around. The punch was caught by a strong and callused hand. "Whoa tough girl. I'm…sorry. I'll take you." He let her go and pulled the car around. She let out the breath she had been holding as they started in the right direction. Now that she was fairly certain he wasn't planning to recreate a horror movie she replayed what he said over in her head trying to figure out why he went all spooky on her.

Hesitantly she asked, "Why do you want my coat?" He pushed the offending garment back at her. "I don't, but it – and you for that matter – disappeared a while back and it's been driving me crazy trying to figure out if it really happened."

" _You_ were the giant bug with the pretty blue eyes?" She twisted around to get a better look. "Huh. They are the same. Well thanks for stopping that night; you saved me from someone pretty awful. I just hope we get to my sister in time to do the same."


End file.
